Ending Type: Task / Event completion.

Amongst the eight types of endings experienced by the consumer is the Task / Event Completion.

A previously-defined event offered by the provider (flight to Paris), or a task agreed between the consumer and the provider (fix my tap). Once this event has taken place to the satisfaction of both parties, the service has ended.

This can likewise be applied to products - disposable packaging has a single task and once completed, despite the obvious environmental problems with that, the consumer experiences the end of the product. In digital, games provide an example. A task is presented to the player, they complete that task - maybe a conclusion includes a big-boss fight - and the game finishes.

The ending of the task / event completion varies a great deal. In some cases, it is immediate, forgettable and disposable. In others, it is celebrated, honoured and detailed.

Disposability

Probably one of the biggest and most impactful endings is for disposable products. Initially celebrated for convenience in the consumer boom of the 20th century, disposability has now become the scourge of consumerism. The fallout of single-use items with one short function has critically impacted the environment. The ease with which the experience ends - without friction, instruction, responsibility or reflection - has to change. A great many of these disposable products have fallen outside the waste capturing systems. Their disposal is beyond the care of the consumer or responsibility of the provider. We, as a collective consuming species, have been blinded by this convenient ending. Improvements have been attempted by using biodegradable materials. But these fail to change the underlying behaviour of the consumer or the experience of a badly defined end.

Sadly, more and more products are falling into this category of task event type endings, which are short and disposable. Furthermore, these products are made of increasingly complex materials. Many ewaste products are emerging as short lifespan convenient solutions. For example disposable chargers for mobile phones.

How we design the experience for the consumer indicates how the consumer should respect the complexity of the product as a peice of waste. Suggesting something as chemically complex as a battery is “disposable” does not set the right intent for its placement at end of life.